“How much further?”

“If we continue at this pace, maybe, a day. But great one, we’ve already been running for two days, I don’t think we can continue like this”

A somber realisation, but one filled with truth

“Maybe, but we have to, a mistake made is a debt to be paid. You know this”

“I know great one, but... We have to rest, we’ll fall if we continue like this, then we will never make it home to save the human.”

Darn it

Why must the flesh be so weak, why where I not born of stone?

Unbending and firm, never wavering

This situation would have been so much better otherwise.

Holding my arm up, I gestured for us to stop

“You are correct, we shall rest here, gather our strength. But we can't stop our watch, she is still in critical condition”

“Yes, great one.”

They said in unison, three comrades I would trust with my life.

Three comrades I would share the burden of shame.

I sat down, gently resting the human on the ground, my clothes beneath her head.

Two other drank water before laying down, immediately falling asleep

I think I’ve might have pushed them too hard

Darn it.

Looking up, I shared a look with the third comrade, saying

“You should rest too, I’ll wake you in three hours.”

“No great one, I’m the only one with the skill to heal.”

Silence, I looked down on the human

A frown covering her face, eyes shut but darting beneath closed eyelids

Probably a dream

Maybe a nightmare.

“Thank you, please heal her“

A silent whisper, but loud enough for my comrade to hear

An knowing smile going up to her tired eyes, then she joined me, looking down on the human

A small glow emanating from her hands

The only light on this dark night.

The elders won't be pleased

I’m not pleased.

I just hope I’m the only one who will suffer the consequences.

I hope...

A small voice, coughing as something tried to speak, waking me

Roused from light slumber

Darn it, I slept!

Quickly opening my eyes, bending forward to look for the source.

Meeting the eyes of my comrade, pointing down at the human

“Hello?“

A small whisper, sounding like she had eaten nothing but sand for days

“Human, stay silent. You must conserve your strength.”

No movement, no indication that she had heard me

But I could see her twitch, eyes darting around, underneath closed eyelids.

Muscles twitching, but unmoving

“Help“

Pain, such pain

I grabbed my chest, trying to hold the weight.

Realising quickly that there was no weight there

Only the heavy beating of my heart

What have I done?

Turning to my comrade,

“Give her the elixir“

I whispered, being met with wide eyes, staring deep into mine.

“But, great one, she might die”

“It’s a risk I’m willing to take.”

She looked away from me, uncertain,

Maybe

Unwilling.

“As you say, great one”

Then she turned around

Grabbing a bottle, emitting a dark red light

A holy artifact of age old

Only to be drunk by those foolish, daring, suicidal

Or desperate

The blood of dragons.

We’ve been give one each.

Only to be drunk as we fight the source of the blue flame

Giving us great power, filling us to the brim with mana

Giving us strength beyond anything

But always

Almost always, dying in the process.

A great source of power

Of unspeakable wealth

An ingredient in the ritual of immortals

But ridden in dark history

Which few know.

Shaking myself from my thoughts, I could see my comrade holding the elixir close to the human's mouth.

Looking up to me

Uncertain

I nodded, eyes focused, looking down on the human

My comrade bent down, touching the elixir to her lips.

Then shakily, letting it slide down

As the human noticed the warm liquid, she greedily started drinking

Tongue smacking around, wetting her mouth as it slid down

Minutes passed, and she soon fell asleep.

A slight glow starting to emanate out from her

Breathing turning calmer

A small smile covering her face.

Good, it’s working

Then I looked to my comrade, her eyes worried.

My eyes staring deep into hers

And then I drank

Staring into her wide eyes, maybe the last I’ll ever see

She stared back, eyes turning to shock

“What have you done?”

My comrade whispered.

“I must repay what has been done, even if it costs my life.”

I whispered back.

Then I stood up, pulling the human with me

A glow emitting

Strength collecting

Mana overflowing

...

I feel

Power

Then I jumped.

Landing several meters away, going off into a sprint

Wind rushing past

Ground crunching beneath my heavy footsteps

Muscles bulging

Cloths ripping

Such overwhelming power

Nothing could stop me

I sprinted, something that should have taken days, took hours

And soon I could see our city

Big stone walls surrounding it

I jumped.

Ground moving past me faster than I could properly perceive

Walls that should be unscalable, was easily jumped

A few guards noticing, quickly raising the alarm

But I had no time to explain

I had to take the human to the elder

The eldest of us, she would know what to do

She must know

As I landed, the ground cracked, forming a small crater.

I looked up, scanning the surrounding

A few Fauns had been blasted to the side

Others stared wide eyed, scared

Others recognised, but still looked scared

I took them no mind, trying to get a grasp of where I was

Then I remembered and took off in a sprint

Houses rushing past

Fauns falling over

Screaming at the unknown assailant

But soon I reached my destination.

A solitude house

Built like most, but left alone

Other houses built respectfully far away to not disturb

Looking like a lone island surrounded by a sea

I ran up to it, throwing open the door.

Inside was a mess, items, trinkets and cloths strewn about in piles

Seeming more like a massive trash pile rather than someone's house

Standing to one corner of this mess stood the elder

Having turned around by the sound of intrusion

“What the hell are you doing-“

But then she saw us

Eyes widening

Frown turning angry

“What have you done?”

“Great elder, please save this human.”

I bowed, putting the human to the ground.

Head held low

Staring down at the human

“You have started a process than can not be undone. How foolish can you be?”

Like a hammer hitting me

Piling up more on my already heavy heart

Making breathing hard

“I did not know what else to do. She was dying.”

I did not know

I’m so sorry

I don't know what to do

I know nothing.

I just wanted to save her

Please, I need help-

I-

A hand gently touching my shoulder

I quickly looked up.

Met with two eyes, glowing like the moon in a dark night

Glowing with an eery glow, piercing into mine

Looking, searching

Finding something inside of me

“I know, young one, I will save her”

...

“You will?”

“Yes.”

Vision turning blurry

Arms turning weak

Chest feeling lighter

She will be saved...

I’m saved

The tears fell

Falling from eyes that had never turned moist

Sobbing without control

“But I need your help. The ritual has already been started by your foolish actions, now we must continue it or else she dies. We will have to do the same to you, but I’m guessing that you are ready for this?”

I nodded

Rubbing away the water flowing

“What can I do?”

“First, you will have to carry her. We will need to bring both of you to a secluded place. There you will experience pain greater than anything, and if the ritual is a success, you will be reborn. One of the elders”

I bowed at her words, a little awkwardly as I still held the human

I knew what it meant to be reborn

A ritual told to all aspiring warriors, a ritual that few were even giving the privilege to do

And even fewer who survived

I was one of them, the most likely to get chosen

But that should not have been for at least eighty years

Probably never.

I looked up at the elder.

She looked back, as if following my line of thoughts

“Follow me.”

Saying that, she whispered something, moving her hands around then going outside

Me following closely behind

The city had turned to a behive of activities

Soldiers running about,

Fauns group together, seeking shelter

And some running from the non-existent threat.

We ignored them, moving past in haste.

And as we did, none glanced at us

Even moving out of the way as we passed

Soldiers running around as they searched frantically for the culprit of the raised alarm.

I gave a quizzical look at the elder

I thought such magic was forbidden

But I guess her being the oldest does make her less constricted by our laws.

Making our way through the city

I felt myself weaken, the blood almost running its course

And soon I would die

But I would not stop, I could not stop.

During our walk, I chose to speak

To try to make the elder understand why I did it

Why I would risk so much for this human.

I told her of our meeting.

Of how confused I was

Of my failure.

Why did I do this?

I don't know, the elder seemed like she already knew

But somehow

The act of talking, lightened my load

My chest feeling lighter, heart not as heavy

If I were to die, I wanted to die. Unburdened.

The elder just nodded, an knowing smile on her lips

I found myself in a deserted place near the middle of the city.

Standing just outside a circular clearing

An unknown place, somewhere I had never been

Somewhere few could even know of

“Where are we?”

The elder did not look to me, instead, staring into the circular clearing.

Hand held high, looking focused

“We are at a place of old, something built even before my birth, a place of power.”

A place of power?

This?

It’s empty, I feel nothing; I see nothing.

Still holding the human in an embrace

I waited for

Something

And something happened.

As if watching water, the very air itself started to ripple

Forming waves, draping the clearing

Then something appeared.

A giant pillar of stone, then another, and another

Repeating six times.

All pillars standing a few meters from each other, surrounding the circular clearing

But what shocked me the most were the carvings on top

Carvings of dragons

“What is-“

“No questions, you will have time later.”

Adding in a whisper

“If you survive“

She then pointed to the middle of the clearing

“Move there, put the human to your left.”

I hesitated, still staring at the carvings of dragons

“DO AS I SAY“

A shout of power

I stumbled, feeling weak

Feeling fatigued

But I nodded and hesitantly took a step into the circle.

Entering, I felt a flow of mana.

An immeasurable amount of mana contained within the clearing

As I took yet another step, the mana started licking my body.

Filling me up, entering me, newfound strength welling up.

Then I found myself in the middle, putting the human gently down beside me.

I then looked at the elder.

Seeing the elder chanting, arms held far above her head

Eyes closed

Feet dancing

“We are ready elder”

The elder took no notice of what I was saying.

Maybe not hearing or ignoring.

So I waited.

Standing still in the middle

Thoughts wandering

But never staying clear

Feeling nervous

I looked down, seeing the human. Her face looking peaceful, still smiling

Then I felt something

Something, creeping

Body heating up

I raised my hands, staring at them.

Then it felt like my body was burning

I started sweating, feeling the blood inside my body burning

No, boiling

Steam started to form on my hands.

Skin rippling like water

Old scars deforming, disappearing

I fell down on my knees

Throat gasping for air

Staring wide eyed at the ground

My whole body burning in pain

I tried to scream

But the voice was stuck in my throat.

I tried to move

Finding myself unable

The only thing I could do was stare

Stare down at my hands and knees

Waiting for the pain to pass

But pass it did not

Just growing

Mind growing dimmer

Vauger

I was

Dissapearing.

Then I heard a scream.

And my mind cleared

A scream that made me think of something else

Something other than pain

I tried to see the source.

Staring up at the elder

Seeing an expression of pure horror

Wha-

Then I looked to my left

Seeing

Blood

Bones

Flesh

All where they should not be

Legs had grown, only to fall off

To then be regrown

Repeated over and over

The scream was primal

Louder than anything

...

What have I done?

My pain seemed trivial

Trivial compared to this

How could I ever have done something so cruel?

Making her suffer through this.

Time did not move

Endlessly stuck in this moment

Seeing her scream

Loud enough to force the elder to her knees

Arms still up, chanting

Too late to stop

Even when something had gone so terribly wrong

Why must she suffer

Why can't it be me?

Then something happened. His body tightened in response.

His mind was hijacked

He felt foreign in his own body

And he felt something unknowable, something truly strong enter his mind

And it spoke to him as if it had spoken this very thing thousands of times.

'The Blood of Dragons has been assimilated'

'You have performed the Ritual of Dragons and survived, for this you are granted the strenght of Dragons. But be carefull, even Dragons may die'

'Fire resistance. Aquired'

'Immortality. Aquired'

'An element of your choosing may be assimilated'